Scott Randolph

TALLAHASSEE -- Aasif Mandvi from 'The Daily Show' made a splash yesterday when he asked Gov. Rick Scott if he'd provide a urine sample during a press conference where the governor unveiled his 2012-2013 budget. Today, his target was Pam Bondi . Bondi was taking part in a press conference with the group No Casinos to denounce the expansion of gambling. Mandvi and his crew waited outside to talk to Bondi, who had apparently prepared for the confrontation and handed Mandvi a container filled with light colored liquid.

TALLAHASSEE – House lawmakers are advancing a response to the Florida Supreme Court ruling last summer that Gov. Rick Scott overstepped his bounds by creating a new rules office and freezing agency rulemaking on his first day in office. The House Rulemaking and Regulation Subcommittee chaired by Rep. Chris Dorworth, R-Lake Mary, passed a bill (PCB RRS 12-02) along party lines Wednesday that spells out that the governor has the express authority to direct the work of his agency chiefs – but does not enshrine Scott's rule-review office into law. Its sponsor said the bill resolved a regulatory quandary created by the Supreme Court's ruling in Wiley v. Scott.

TALLAHASSEE – House lawmakers are advancing a response to the Florida Supreme Court ruling last summer that Gov. Rick Scott overstepped his bounds by creating a new rules office and freezing agency rulemaking on his first day in office. The House Rulemaking and Regulation Subcommittee chaired by Rep. Chris Dorworth, R-Lake Mary, passed a bill (PCB RRS 12-02) along party lines Wednesday that spells out that the governor has the express authority to direct the work of his agency chiefs – but does not enshrine Scott's rule-review office into law. Its sponsor said the bill resolved a regulatory quandary created by the Supreme Court's ruling in Wiley v. Scott.

TALLAHASSEE -- Aasif Mandvi from 'The Daily Show' made a splash yesterday when he asked Gov. Rick Scott if he'd provide a urine sample during a press conference where the governor unveiled his 2012-2013 budget. Today, his target was Pam Bondi . Bondi was taking part in a press conference with the group No Casinos to denounce the expansion of gambling. Mandvi and his crew waited outside to talk to Bondi, who had apparently prepared for the confrontation and handed Mandvi a container filled with light colored liquid.

The flap over the use of the word “uterus,” which almost certainly qualifies as the most bizarre Florida government event of the year, has drawn the attention of South Florida’s Raging Grannies. When the Raging Grannies weigh in on a topic, from the liberal perspective, they do it by song. “The Uterus Song” was penned by Vicki Ryder to the tune of “Bye-Bye Blackbird.” In the video, below, Ryder, 68, is the one in the middle on the couch. It stems from an incident last month during a debate in the Florida House of Representatives.

Florida Senate Minority Leader Nan Rich, D-Weston, is sponsoring legislation to ban workplace discrimination against gays and lesbians. Prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity would bring jobs to Florida, Rich said. She and House sponsor, state Rep. Scott Randolph, D-Orlando, are calling their proposal the "Florida Competitive Workforce Act.” They'd improve the economy by enhancing the state's reputation as a good place to live, work and visit, the sponsors said.

South Florida's Raging Grannies have entered singing into the flap over the use of the word "uterus" in the Florida Legislature. Last month, State Rep. Scott Randolph, D-Orlando, contrasted the Republican majority's willingness to impose restrictions on abortion with their reluctance to impose regulations on business. He suggested that if his wife incorporated her uterus as a business, that would stop the anti-abortion legislation. House Speaker Dean Cannon reportedly chastised Randolph because teenage pages could have heard him use the term.

The Casey Anthony overreaction continues. Now you have State Rep. Scott Randolph, D-Orlando, proposing a law that would make it a felony for jurors to sell their stories within 270 days of serving on a jury. Leave aside the constitutional question -- and some First Amendment experts do say it is unconstitutional -- more than that, it seems blatantly un-American. If somebody serves on a jury and then has a chance to sell their story, I say more power to them.

By Aaron Deslatte, Tallahassee bureau: House Finance and Tax Chair Ellyn Bogdanoff, R-Fort Lauderdale, just chastised House Democrats for pressing to hold hearings on Florida's exemption-filled tax code but not bringing any specific sales tax exemptions forward for repeal by a weekend deadline. The panel has been holding hearings for six weeks on whether to repeal some tax exemptions to help close a $6 billion budget hole. But the effort appeared to end with little fruit. "None have been brought forward by the minority party, and that is unfortunate," she said, offering a surprise admonition to minority-party members at the end of her council meeting Monday then adjourning it without allowing Democrats to respond.

Shoppers could get a break from paying Florida's 6-cent sales tax on back-to-school clothing and supplies, under an effort gaining momentum in the Legislature. With time waning in the annual lawmaking session, legislators have revived talks about modifying the state's loophole-laden sales tax code. A House plan, approved in committee Monday, would give a tax break to people who buy yachts and boats priced at more than $300,000. But people who buy a magazine subscription or play a game at Chuck E. Cheese would pay more.

The flap over the use of the word “uterus,” which almost certainly qualifies as the most bizarre Florida government event of the year, has drawn the attention of South Florida’s Raging Grannies. When the Raging Grannies weigh in on a topic, from the liberal perspective, they do it by song. “The Uterus Song” was penned by Vicki Ryder to the tune of “Bye-Bye Blackbird.” In the video, below, Ryder, 68, is the one in the middle on the couch. It stems from an incident last month during a debate in the Florida House of Representatives.

At the same time lawmakers are slashing the state budget, considering laying off dozens of government workers and increasing fees and taxes, they are also pushing a break for the richest Floridians. A bill moving through the Legislature would cap the sales tax on boats and planes at $25,000. It's being called the Aviation and Maritime Full Employment Act. "The bill does exactly what the name suggests: It is designed to create jobs and spur economic growth," Rep. Tom Grady said before a House panel voted Tuesday to advance the proposal.